DEPUTY SPEAKER - POLITY
News: SC
notice to Centre on plea that no polls were held to posts of Deputy Speakers in
Parliament, five Assemblies
What's in the news?
● The
Supreme Court asked the Union Government to respond to a plea that no elections
have been held to the posts of Deputy Speakers in Parliament and five State
Legislative Assemblies.
● The
five legislative Assemblies concerned are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha:
Election:
● The
Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Lok Sabha itself from amongst its
members.
● She/He
is elected after the election of the Speaker has taken place.
● The date of election of
the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker.
● Whenever
the office of the Deputy Speaker falls vacant, the Lok Sabha elects another
member to fill the vacancy.
Term:
● The
Deputy Speaker remains in office usually during the life of the Lok Sabha.
Salary and Allowances:
● The
Deputy Speaker is entitled to a regular salary and allowance fixed by Parliament, and charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
Removal:
● He
/She is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the Lok Sabha (i.e., an effective
majority).
● Such
a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days advance notice.
Functions:
● The
Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker's office when it is vacant.
● He
also acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the
House.
○ In
both cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker.
● He
also presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, in case
the Speaker is absent from such a sitting.
● It
should be noted here that the Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. He is directly responsible to the
House.
● The
Deputy Speaker has one special privilege, that is, whenever he is appointed as
a member of a parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its chairman.
Powers:
● Like
the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, while presiding over the House, cannot vote in
the first instance. He can only exercise a casting
vote in the case of a tie.
● Further,
when a resolution for the removal of the Deputy Speaker is under consideration
of the House, he cannot preside at the sitting of the House, though he may be
present.
Other Features:
● When
the Speaker presides over the House, the Deputy Speaker is like any other
ordinary member of the House.
● He
can speak in the House, participate in its proceedings and vote on any question
before the House.
● Up
to the 10th Lok Sabha, both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were usually
from the ruling party.
● Since the 11th Lok Sabha,
there has been a consensus that the Speaker comes from the ruling party (or
ruling alliance) and the post of Deputy Speaker goes to the main opposition
party.
● The
Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, while assuming their offices, do not make and
subscribe any separate oath or affirmation.
Go back to basics:
History:
● The
institutions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in India in 1921 under
the provisions of the Government of
India Act of 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms).
● Before
1921, the Governor-General of India used to preside over the meetings of the
Central Legislative Council.
● In
1921, Frederick Whyte and Sachidanand
Sinha were appointed by the Governor-General of India as the first Speaker
and the first Deputy Speaker (respectively) of the central legislative
assembly.
● In
1925, Vithalbhai J. Patel became the
first Indian and the first elected Speaker of the central legislative assembly.
● G.V. Mavalankar and
Ananthasayanam Ayyangar had the distinction of
being the first Speaker and the first Deputy Speaker (respectively) of the Lok
Sabha.
● G.V.
Mavalankar also held the post of Speaker in the Constituent Assembly
(Legislative) as well as the provisional Parliament. He held the post of
Speaker of Lok Sabha continuously for one decade from 1946 to 1956.